American Skiing Legends Phil & Steve Mahre To Race Washougal!

Two of the most successful American skiers of all-time to compete in the Scott USA Pro Board Sports Motocross National @ Washougal, presented by the National Promoters Group

WASHOUGAL, Wash., (July 18, 2003) ¿ The National Promoters Group announced today that Olympic and World Cup skiing legends Phil & Steve Mahre will race the second annual celebrity athlete motocross promotion at Washougal, aka The Scott USA Pro Board Sports Motocross National @ Washougal, presented by the NPG.

Washougal’s pre-race promotional event, a three-lap mini National that pits skiers vs. snowboarders, takes place on Friday on the pro track and is followed by another three lap race on Sunday during the intermission between the pro races. Celebrity athletes spend the entire weekend at Washougal, camping out and hanging with the fans, amateur racers and their families. Joining Phil and Steve Mahre next week will be some of the world’s top board sport athletes, including:

Daron Rahlves, U.S. Ski Team member and top American World Cup downhill racer of all time

Several other non-board sport athletes will participate as well in a ‘non-scoring’ capacity. They include pro jet skier and motocross ace Victor Sheldon, THE Seth Enslow, his Crusty buddy Bubba and FMX star Beau Bamburg. In addition, local pros Ryan Huffman and Jason McCormick will be on hand to provide racing pointers to the pro board sport athletes.

Note: The Scott USA Pro Board Sports Motocross National @ Washougal is the third in a series of promotions put on by the NPG to help draw outside-the-industry attention to the AMA/Chevy Trucks U.S. Motocross Championship. Similar NPG events took place earlier this year in San Bernardino, Calif., (The Thor Celebrity Motocross National @ Glen Helen) and Sacramento (Dunlop Tire’s “Where the Snow Meets the Dirt @ Hangtown”).

Phil Mahre, 46, is the first and only American male to win a World Cup overall skiing title, winning three consecutive overall titles from 1981 to ’83 and establishing himself as one of the sport’s all-time greats. Phil also struck Olympic gold in 1984 in the slalom event, silver in slalom in at the 1980 Winter Games. Brother Steve won the giant slalom in the 1982 World Championships and finished fourth overall in the World Cup points chase that year. He joined Phil on the podium at the ’84 Winter Games, winning the silver in slalom. The Mahre brothers are from Yakima, Wash., home of motocross legend Jim Pomeroy.

“I haven’t ridden a dirt bike in ten years, so this should be interesting,” said Phil Mahre. “We (along with brother, Steve) used to ride motocross quite a bit as a way to train for ski racing. Steve still has a couple 125s in the garage, but I don’t know if they run.” Mahre then added: “I’m definitely looking forward to seeing the pros race on Sunday.”

Rahlves and the Mahre brothers will be under the watchful eye of another U.S. Ski Team dignitary as Head Coach Phil McNichol will make the trek down from summer camp training at Mt. Hood to checck out the racing on Sunday. McNichol is an avid trail rider. Former U.S. Ski Team members AJ Kitt and Jeremy Nobis will also be on hand to cheer on the ski/mx racers.

“We’re excited to have these great athletes back again at Washougal this year,” said race promoter and NPG member Ralph Huffman. “(Last year) They came on their own dime, sat around camp fires with the other amateur racers and slept under the stars. Because of that, along with their status at nearby Mt. Hood, these guys and their guests were quickly accepted by our fans and became very involved with the weekend’s festivities.”

The goal of the NPG is to raise the awareness of motocross through the production of professional championship racing events, while providing the cash prizes ¿ through sponsorship opportunities – for the competitors. For more information on the NPG and motocross results, please visit our web site at www.mxnationals.com or contact Pat Schutte at (734) 222-0688 and pat.schutte@omsltd.com.